Book Lovers by Emily Henry

|Synopsis|

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

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|Review|

If People We Meet on Vacation is the book that owns my soul, then Book Lovers is the book of my heart. I laughed, probably way too much, and definitely shed quite a few tears. This was such a beautiful story about the relationship between sisters and how it’s never too late to find yourself or your person.

Poppy might be my millennial ennui and midlife crisis, but Nora managed to capture my full life, am I who I’m supposed to be and am I enough crisis. She’s the villain girlfriend in every Hallmark movie, a city person at heart and a workaholic because she loves her writers and fights hard for them. A real shark some might say, but truly just misunderstood. I enjoyed the way her story unfolded, slowly discovering who she is and how she became the way she is. Same with Charlie. Two sides of the same coin, opposing magnets drawn together.

There is so much to love about this book. The sarcasm dropped so casually in every conversation was one of my favorite things though. The witty one liners and banter reminded me so much of my sister and I; you just never knew what was going to come out of Charlie, Nora or Libby’s mouth next and I couldn’t wait to find out. They had me in stitches from start to finish. The relationship between Libby and Nora was the true highlight of this story though. I found it so relatable and I hope others see themselves and their sibling relationships in bits of Nora and Libby’s because it was just imperfectly perfect.

Charlie Lastra is my newest obsession. If there’s one thing Henry nails in her books (tbh she nails everything but if you say that people think you’re lying so this is what I’m picking to try and sell it) it’s the lead male characters. Like yes they’re hot, but they’ve got depth. Stories to tell and their female counterparts best interests at heart. Charlie was a misunderstood, never-quite-fit-in smooshed cinnamon roll with a resting bit** face. Plus he edits books and knows where the g spot is so it basically doesn’t get any better than that. The romance was emotional and steamy so basically the combination we’re searching for. Sparks fly from the start with some Bigfoot erotica and I was sold.

If you love Henry’s other books and are worried this might finally be the one that lets you don’t, you’re going to love this. I actually think it might be her best yet and considering how obsessed I am with PWMOV, that’s saying something. From the Hallmark-like small town setting to the checklist shenanigans and hot romance, you’ll never want this book to end.